Essence of Andhra

Broccoli – Zucchini Chutney

2009-07-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

I recently prepared this interesting and delicious chutney. I don’t like to eat broccoli in curry form or in salads due its odd smell/odd taste. But I still want eat them due to the health benefits broccoli possesses. So sometimes I add them in sambar or make chutney which suppresses the smell. For kids, I add broccoli in smoothies.

Ingredients:

2 cups Broccoli Florets
1 cup Zucchini Pieces
2 tsp Red Chili Powder (or as required)
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senaga pappu, Chana Dal)
1 tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
A handful of Cilantro Leaves
½ tsp Tamarind Pulp
2 tsp Oil
Salt

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + chana dal + urad dal and sauté well. When they become golden brown in color, add broccoli + zucchini pieces + cilantro and sauté well until they become little soft. Don’t overcook them. Later transfer them to a plate and allow cooling.

Finally blend all of them into a fine paste by adding chili powder + tamarind pulp + salt. Add very little water if needed.

Enjoy this yummy chutney with hot rice and ghee. This chutney tastes great with chapathis too!!

Lentils with Ridge Gourd (Beerakaya Pappu/Dhal)

2009-07-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

This is a very simple side dish which is very comforting and delicious. Coming to the health benefits, we all know all the lentils are good sources of protein. Lentils are also rich in calcium, vitamin B and iron. Ridge Gourd is a healthy vegetable too! It’s rich in minerals, fiber, Vitamin C and lot more. It has an excellent cooling effect of our body.

Ingredients:

1 cup Tuvar Dhal (Kandi Pappu)
2 small Ridge Gourds
1 Tomato
2 or 3 Green Chilies
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
A pinch of Asafetida (Hing/Inguva)
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
1 dry Red Chili, broken into 2 pieces (optional)
A handful of Cilantro Leaves (Kottimeera)
1 tsp Oil
Salt

Preparation:

Wash and pressure cook toor daal until soft.

Peel and chop ridge gourd into small pieces. Chop tomato and green chilies into small pieces.

In a pan/bowl heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + red chili + asafetida and stir well.

Then add ridge gourd pieces along with tomato and green chilies and mix well. Pour some water just enough to boil the veggies. Add turmeric and mix well. Then cover the pan and let the veggies cook well and become soft.

Later add cooked daal and mix well. Leave it on the stove on low flame until bubbles form on top and daal comes to a boil.

Finally add cilantro leaves and salt. Mix well and switch off the flame.

Enjoy this yummy daal with hot rice and some ghee. This is a very comforting food!!

Rava Laddoo for the Indian Cooking Challenge

2009-06-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hi, hello, how are you all? I know I have disappeared from the blogosphere for some time. As I told in the previous post, my sister and her family are with us for the summer break. So naturally I became little busy chitchatting and visiting different places. Actually I didn’t want to take a break, but time just flew by. Finally I am back with an interesting recipe Srivalli has chosen for “Indian Cooking Challenge” event. I prepared these for my little one’s 5^th b’day party last Saturday. Everyone liked it so much. Thanks for the yummy recipe Srivalli!!

Here is the recipe given by Srivalli:

Ingredients: (Makes - 10 Laddoos of normal size)

Rava / Semolina - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 25 gms.
Milk - 25 ml
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Cashew nuts - 10 whole nuts
Raisins - 10
Grated fresh coconut - 25 gms

Preparation:

Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai. Once the ghee is hot enough, simmer the flame and roast cashew nuts and raisins. Once the raisins balloon up, remove. Then roast the grated coconut. Remove once done and Keep all these aside.

Add the remaining ghee and roast the Rava till it’s well roasted and aroma starts coming out.

In a bowl, take all the roasted Rava, Nuts, and Coconut and add the Cardamom powder. Then add the sugar. Mix well.

Then slowly add the warm milk into the bowl. Check if you are able to gather as balls. When you find that milk added is enough to get you laddos, transfer it back to the kadai and cook in sim for 2 mins. Mix well and then cover it and let it rest for 2 mins. Then immediately make balls or laddoos.

My usual way of making Rava Laddus is slightly different than the method given by Srivalli. I first roast cashews, raisins and cardamom in hot ghee and keep aside. Then add rava and sugar and stir for some time and finally add little milk till the mixture comes together. I don't add coconut powder. Then mix cashews, raisins and cardamom with rava mixture and turn off the flame. I take small portions of rava mixture and roll into balls when rava is still warm as it tends to get hardened if delayed.

Tip: To handle warm rava mixture without burning your hand, take some cold milk in a plate, dip your hand/palm in it and then roll the ball. You won’t feel hotness of the rava mixture.

Spiced Honeydew Melon Seeds Powder

2009-06-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

Do you remember Pumpkin Seeds Powder that I posted long back? This time I tried making a spiced powder with Honeydew Melon Seeds in the same manner. It turned out so delicious and aromatic.

After cutting the fruit, I scooped out all the seeds inside it, washed them well to remove the pulp attached to the seeds and spread them flat on a plate. Then I let the seeds dry for a day under hot sun. If you don’t have proper sunlight, you can just place it inside the house too and let the seeds get dried very well.

Ingredients:

1 cup dried Honeydew Melon Seeds
1 cup Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Daal)
¼ cup Coriander Seeds (Dhaniyaalu, Dhaniya)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
4 or 5 dry Red Chilies (adjust according to taste)
¼ tsp Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
Salt

Preparation:

Dry roast all the ingredients except asafetida and salt. Leave aside to cool completely.

Grind them into a fine powder (coarse powder is OK too!) by adding salt and asafetida.

That’s all! Enjoy this yummy and spicy powder with piping hot rice and a dollop of ghee.

My sister and her family are arriving tomorrow to spend summer vacation with us, so I am going to serve this delicious powder with rice. Let me see what they would say!! :)

Spinach in Yogurt (Spinach Perugu Pachadi)

2009-06-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

I always try to use yogurt/curd in different dishes due to its health benefits. It cools down the body and gives strength to our bones. And it is so good for the stomach and helps to develop good immune system. This time I added spinach to it for added benefits. As we all knew, spinach is low in calories and high in vitamins. It provides a lot of health benefits for our body such as strong bones, smart brain, energy, good eye sight etc….

I tried this combination for the first time, though I heard about spinach raita many times. This goes very well with rice and chapathis. I made this when we had some guests over for the weekend and everyone liked it so much. But I couldn’t click good pictures of the dish as everything was almost out!!

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped Spinach (fresh or frozen)
2 cups plain Yogurt
1 Tomato, chopped
2 or 3 green Chilies, chopped
½ tsp Rasam Powder
½ tsp Coconut Powder, dry
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
A pinch of Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
Some Curry Leaves
Some Cilantro Leaves
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
Salt to taste
1 tsp Oil

Preparation:

Heat oil in a bowl/pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds and stir well.

Then add curry leaves + cilantro and stir well. Later add chopped spinach + tomato + green chilies + rasam powder + coconut powder + turmeric + asafetida and mix well with a spatula.

Pour some water (approx. 1 cup) just enough to soak the added items and cover. Let the spinach mixture cook well for some time.

Later when you feel spinach is cooked well, add yogurt and mix very well. Add salt and turn off the flame quickly as yogurt tends to break apart.

Enjoy this yummy spinach yogurt pachadi with rice/chapathis.

Easy Garlic Bread

2009-06-10T23:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your sweet wishes on our marriage anniversary!! We are so glad to read all your wishes!!

If you’re like me who always buy bulk items and couldn’t consume them soon, you should look into this recipe. It makes good use of leftover breads. If you have any leftover hot dog buns and bored to eat them the same way again and again, turn them into delicious garlic bread. Wondering how?

Here is how….

Ingredients: (No exact measurements)

Some Hot Dog Buns
Butter, spreadable
Garlic Paste
Black Pepper Powder
Chaat Masala
Freshly chopped herbs or dried (like Parsley, Oregano etc.)

Preparation:

Split open hot dog buns lengthwise.

Apply butter on each slice and spread garlic paste on top.

Sprinkle black pepper + chat masala and some herbs of your choice.

Toast in an oven (I used toaster oven) and enjoy hot, delicious garlic bread with some juice of your choice.

These make a quick and perfect breakfast on busy days!!

Carrot Fudge with Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt

2009-06-08T02:00:00.000-07:00

As today (June 8) is our marriage anniversary, I would like to celebrate with this sweet post. I made this yummy dessert using Oikos Greek Yogurt. I heard a lot about this Oikos Greek Yogurt before but never tried it in my cooking before and never ate some. After tasting a spoonful of this yogurt, I realised what I was missing. It was so yummy, smooth, thick and creamy. And one better thing is this yogurt is fat free and is so healthy.

Here is how I got acquainted with this delicious Greek Yogurt:

Few days back, I received an email from Kristina, of Stoneyfield Farm that produces many yummy varieties of organic yogurts, smoothies and milk. She asked me if I am interested to try a very famous Oikos Organic Greek yogurt. I said yes, and she has sent me coupons for the same and a cute tote bag. Thank you Kristina!!

I bought two varieties of Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt, one vanilla and one honey!! I searched on the internet for some interesting recipes using Greek yogurt, but none attracted me. So I decided to make my own creation with mixing and matching ingredients. Finally I settled on this yummy carrot fudge. I used Vanilla flavored Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt for my fudge. I reserved honey flavored one for some other interesting recipe, which I will post soon.

What is the difference between regular yogurt and Greek yogurt?

The difference between Greek yogurt and regular yogurt is in the amount of liquid, or whey, that remains after the yogurt sets. Greek yogurt is strained to remove most of the whey, creating a thick condensed yogurt. The straining process increases the protein and reduces the lactose, making the final product very healthy and delicious. Source: From here.

Now coming to the recipe details:

Ingredients:

2 cups grated Carrot
½ cup Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt
1 cup Sugar
¼ tsp Cardamom Seeds
Few Raisins
2 or 3 strands of Saffron (Optional)
½ cup Water
2 tbsp unsalted Butter
2 tsp Custard Powder

Preparation:

Melt butter in a non-stick pan and add cardamom seeds + carrot + sugar and mix well. Pour water and let the carrot cook for some time.

When carrots become soft and all the water gets absorbed, add yogurt along with raisins + saffron and stir well.

Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan. Finally add some custard powder and stir well. After some time the carrot mixture gets thickened.

At this point, turn off the flame and transfer the contents into a greased plate and press firmly. Allow it to cool for some time and cut into desired shapes. This fudge is so soft and chewy and yummy. Enjoy the yummy fudge any time of the day!!

This fudge has a little tint of sourness due to the yogurt added, still tastes great!!

Tip: If you think the pieces are not coming out good, place the plate in the refrigerator for some time and the pieces come out perfect. But keep in mind that the fudge will be soft and chewy even if you placed it in the refrigerator for a long time.

Fusion Curry (Chickpeas and Kidney Beans in Pineapple Gravy)

2009-06-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

I recently bought a big pack of canned Pineapple chunks as I wanted to try some recipes with pineapple. For the first recipe, I tried using pineapples in a curry form that would go well with chapathis. First I just added chickpeas to it, but later wanted to add kidney beans too, just wondering how they will taste with pineapple. But to my amazement, they all co-operated very well and turned into a delicious, aromatic and colorful curry within minutes.

This is so easy and fast recipe. Here it goes:

Ingredients:

1 can of Pineapple chunks (20 oz) equal to 2.5 cups, drained
1 can of Chickpeas (14 oz) equal to 1.75 cups, drained
1 can of Kidney Beans (14 oz) equal to 1.75 cups, drained
1 medium sized Potato, peeled and chopped into cubes
A handful of Cilantro Leaves
Some Curry Leaves
4 or 5 Green Chilies
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Oil
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Grind together pineapple chunks (don’t add juice) + green chilies + cilantro into a fine paste. No need to add water as pineapples already has some juice in them. Keep aside.

In a pan add chickpeas + kidney beans + potato pieces + curry leaves + cumin seeds and oil. Mix well, add ¼ cup water and turmeric, cover and leave on medium flame until all the water is absorbed and potatoes are cooked well (approx. 5 minutes).

To this, add the pineapple paste and mix well. Leave the pan for 5 more minutes until all the pineapple essence is absorbed and turn off the flame. Don’t let the curry to become too dry. It should be moist and gravy like (look at the picture). Adjust salt.

Transfer the yummy curry into a serving bowl and enjoy with your rotis/chapthis.

Hope you liked another crazy but yummy creation from my kitchen!!

Bread Dosa

2009-05-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

I love dosas, so I try to eat them in different ways. I recently tried a delicious dosa with bread slices and it turned out so delicious and perfect. Try it and find it out yourself!

Ingredients:

4 Bread Slices
2 cups Rice Flour
1 tsp red Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
A handful of Cilantro leaves, chopped fine
4 cups Water or as needed
Salt to taste
Oil

Preparation:

Make bread slices into small pieces by ripping by hand. Place them in a mixing bowl.

Add rice flour + chili powder + cumin seeds + cilantro + salt and pour water to mix.

Mix the batter well until a thin consistency. Adjust salt and leave covered for 30 minutes.

Heat a non-stick pan and pour a ladleful of batter in the center and quickly spread into a circle. This dosa won’t be so thin, but still be little crunchy when eaten hot.

Pour some oil around the dosa and allow it to cook for some time. Then flip it over and pour some more oil and again allow cooking on the other side. When done, remove from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Repeat the same process with rest of the batter.

Enjoy hot, crunchy dosas with desired chutney. We ate ours with Cilantro Chutney.

Roasted Eggplant Pickle (Vankaya Bajji)

2009-05-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Yum! The name itself makes my mouth-water. This is my most favorite kind of pickle with eggplant which is so aromatic and delicious. I have blogged about another kind of Eggplant Chutney before, in which we dice the eggplant to make chutney. In this recipe we use whole eggplant without its skin that was roasted to perfection.

Ingredients:

1 big, plump Eggplant, washed well
4 or 5 dry Red Chilies or Green Chilies
1 Tomato, chopped
Handful of Cilantro Leaves, chopped
Some Curry Leaves
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
½ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
¼ tsp Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
A pinch of Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Tamarind Pulp
2 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Preparation:

First we need to roast the eggplant until it becomes soft. Here are some methods to do it:

Place the eggplant on top of a stove with medium flame and roast till the skin becomes soft and mushy. Turn the eggplant to all sides to roast it equally on all sides.
Pierce the eggplant with a fork or knife at different places, as it helps the air from the eggplant to escape without exploding in the MW. Then place it on a MW-safe plate and microwave for 4 minutes on high and then flip it over and run the MW for another 2 minutes or until the eggplant feels soft and mushy when squeezed gently.
Place the eggplant (again after piercing it with a fork or knife) on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until eggplant appears to be soft and mushy.

I used stove-top method, because I like the burnt flavor. When it’s done, place the eggplant on a plate to cool it down for some time. If you’re in a hurry and want to handle the eggplant when still hot, best method is to place the eggplant in a bowl of water and peel the skin so that your hand won’t burn.

When the eggplant becomes cold, peel off the skin with hands (it’s so easy!). Take the pulp into a
different bowl and mash it well with a fork or a potato masher. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + red chili or green chili+ curry leaves and fry for some time until the dals turn golden brown in color.

Then add the tomato pieces and fry well until tomato becomes soft. To this, add the mashed eggplant + turmeric powder + tamarind pulp + cilantro and mix well. Leave it on low flame for 5 minutes. Then remove it from the stove and leave aside to cool.

When the mixture becomes cold, add it to a blender jar and grind until soft. No need to add extra water as eggplant already contains some water in it. Adjust salt and transfer the pickle to a serving bowl.

Enjoy this yummy, aromatic chutney with steaming hot rice and ghee.

Cilantro Dosa (Kottimeera Dosa)

2009-05-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

I mostly make instant dosas that need little preparation. But that doesn’t mean I never go for traditional cooking. I do cook traditionally sometimes, but mostly the easy way! This is also an instant dosa infused with cilantro (coriander leaves) and green chilies.

Ingredients :

3 cups Rice Flour
1 cup Urad Flour (Flour made out of Black Gram Dal available in Indian stores)
1 bunch of Cilantro, washed
5 or 6 Green Chilies, stems removed
Salt as required
Oil
Some Buttermilk or water to make the batter

Preparation:

Grind together cilantro + green chilies into a fine paste by adding little water.

In a big bowl mix rice flour and urad flour together. Add the ground cilantro + chili paste to the flours and mix well. Pour buttermilk or water to make thin batter. Keep the batter aside for 30 minutes.

Heat a non-stick pan and pour a ladleful of batter first around the edges of the pan into a circular shape and then fill in the circle fast.

Due to the addition of buttermilk, we can’t spread the batter into a thin circle with a spatula. So we just need to pour the batter the way suggested above.

Pour some oil around the dosa and let the dosa cook. When it’s cooked on one side, flip it over to cook on the other side. Then transfer the dosa to a serving plate.

Repeat the same process with rest of the batter.

Enjoy these yummy dosas with desired chutney. We ate ours with Onion Chutney.

Sending these dosas to Sowmya’s SWC:Greens, an event originated by Lakshmi.

Guar (Cluster) Beans Chutney (Goru Chikkudu Pachadi)

2009-05-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

I don’t really know why I am so passionate about chutneys/pickles. I made this chutney with leftover cluster beans curry from the previous day. We usually eat the leftover curry as such the next day too, but sometimes I feel like turning it into a completely new thing (mostly chutneys).

Here is how I make a simple curry with cluster beans: (Sorry, I don’t have the picture of the curry).

I Use:

2 or 3 cups of cluster beans, cut into small pieces with strings removed
1 tsp desiccated Coconut Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp dry red Chili Powder (adjust according to taste)
1 tsp Oil
Some Curry Leaves
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
¼ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
1 or 2 dry red Chilis
Salt

Preparation:

Pressure-cook the chopped beans until done.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + red chili + curry leaves and fry for some time until the dals turn golden brown in color.

Add the beans to the pan and fry well. After 5 minutes, add turmeric powder + chili powder and stir well.

After 10 min add coconut powder and stir well until it turns brown. Then add salt to taste and keep the pan in low heat for little more time with lid on. This will remove the little raw taste of the beans that exists even after boiling them.

Switch off the stove and keep the pan without any lid. After 5 min the curry is ready to eat with a bowl of rice.

Here is how I turn this curry into chutney:

I add some extra ingredients to the curry (but no frying) to make it more spicy and yummy.

2 or 3 tsp red Chili Powder
½ tsp Asafetida (Inguva)
½ tsp Tamarind Pulp

That’s all! Just add all these to the curry and grind into a fine paste by adding little water. Enjoy with rice and dollop of ghee!!

Cabbage in Yogurt (Cabbage Perugu Pachadi)

2009-05-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I tried this combination and it turned out so delicious. I usually add yogurt to certain vegetables like Snake Gourd and Eggplant to make perugu pachadi. I wanted to see how it will taste with cabbage, but came out so good. We enjoyed the taste to the full.

Ingredients:

2 or 3 cups of grated/chopped Cabbage
1 cup of Yogurt/Curd
1 small Onion, chopped fine
¼ cup of Green Peas, frozen or fresh (If using fresh peas, make sure to soak them for some time)
1 medium Tomato, chopped
3 or 4 Green Chilies, chopped fine
A handful of Cilantro Leaves, chopped
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt

For Seasoning/Tempering:

½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
¼ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
1 broken dry red Chili
1 tsp Oil

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + red chili and fry for some time until the dals turn golden brown in color.

To this, add onion + tomato + green chilies + cabbage + green peas + turmeric and stir well. Pour little water (approx. ¼ cup) into the pan, cover and let all the veggies cook for some time.

When all the water gets absorbed and cabbage becomes tender and lost its raw smell, remove the cover and add yogurt and mix well. Keep the flame on low at this time and leave the pan for some time until the vegetables absorb the yogurt well. Add salt to taste.

Finally add cilantro, stir well and turn off the flame. Transfer the gravy to a serving bowl and enjoy with rice or chapathis.

Instant Bread (Sticks) Snack - Low Fat

2009-05-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

This is a very quick snack which is delicious and low-fat with minimal ingredients. This is a perfect and easy snack for the lazy evenings.

Ingredients:

4 Bread Slices
1 cup Chickpea Flour (Senagapindi, Besan)
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
Buttermilk or Water, as needed to mix the batter
Salt to taste
Oil

Preparation:

Add chili powder and salt to chickpea flour and make thin batter by adding buttermilk or water. Keep aside.

Heat a non-stick pan. Cut each bread slice into 4 pieces lengthwise.

Dip each piece into the prepared batter and arrange them on the pan side by side. Pour little oil around each piece and let it cook.

When cooked on one side, flip the pieces so that other side is cooked as well. When done, remove them from the pan and transfer to a serving plate.

Repeat the same process with rest of the pieces.

Enjoy these delicious bread sticks with ketchup or desired chutney.

These bread sticks are reaching Mahimaa’s “15 minute cooking” event.

Spiced Dalia (Roasted Bengal Gram) Powder (Putnaala Podi)

2009-05-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

Hope all of you (mothers) had a wonderful Mother’s Day! I also had a nice one just like last year.

Now coming to the recipe, this is a delicious and aromatic Andhra delicacy. This is so simple to prepare too! Here is my version of this yummy powder. At our home we call these dalia as "Thinae Senagapappu" in Telugu. But these are well known as "Putnaala Pappu" in most of Andhra Pradesh.

Ingredients:

1 cup Roasted Bengal Gram (Putnaala Pappu, Dalia)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 or 3 flakes of Garlic, skin removed
2 tsp dry red Chili Powder (adjust according to taste)
Salt

Preparation:

Add all the ingredients in a blender jar and grind into fine powder. That’s it, a very delicious spicy powder is ready for you to enjoy.

Here are some ways to enjoy this yummy powder:

Mix with steaming hot rice with a dollop of ghee and eat. After you eat one bite of this, you can’t control yourself from having a second serving.
If some desiccated coconut is added to the powder while grinding, it can be mixed it with some yogurt or water to make instant chutney for dosas/chapathis.
Sprinkle some dalia powder while making curries to make them taste more delicious and aromatic.
Sprinkle on top of dosas while making Errakaram Dosas (I’ll post this some time). The taste will be heavenly!

This is my contribution to Mahimaa’s “15 minute cooking” event.

Spicy Mint Pesarattu (Mung Dal Dosa infused with Mint)

2009-05-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

Pesarattu is the famous Andhra delicacy. I have already blogged about the regular pesarattu. This time I added mint to give it a different taste and flavor. It came out so delicious and the dosa has got a pretty color. Mint leaves are rich in Vitamins C and A.

Ingredients:

2 cups Yellow Mung or Green Mung (Pesarapappu)
1 bunch of Mint Leaves
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
5 or 6 Green Chilies (or according to individual taste)
A small piece of Ginger, peeled and chopped (optional)
Salt
Oil

Preparation:

Wash and soak mung daal for at least 6 hours.

Wash and remove leaves from mint twigs. Discard hard stems.

Grind soaked mung daal into a fine paste along with mint leaves + cumin seeds + green chilies + ginger (if using) and salt. Make the batter into medium consistency (not too thin or not too thick).

Heat a non-stick pan. When it is hot, pour a ladleful of the batter and spread evenly into a round shape. Sprinkle some oil around the pesarattu and cover. After some time, remove the cover and flip the pesarattu over. Again cover and leave it for some time. When the pesarttu appears to be cooked, remove it from the pan and transfer to a serving plate.

Repeat the same process with rest of the batter. This pesarattu can be eaten just like that as it already spicy or can be eaten with any chutney, if more spiciness is needed. Enjoy hot and yummy pesarattus.

This is my contribution to the following events:

RCI-Pondicherry Cuisine, hosted by Lavi. RCI is originally started by Lakshmi. I am sending this as Andhra special dish.

SWC – Cooking with Greens, hosted by Sowmya, originally started by Lakshmi.

JFI: Mint, hosted by Ashwini. JFI is originally created by Indira of Mahanandi.

Bisibele Bath

2009-05-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

This is a Karnataka special, made with nice blend of flavors is always a hit. It tastes like sambhar bath but uses slightly different ingredients. One of my readers requested me to blog about this Bisibele Bath, I think 2 months ago (I know! I know!). I realized I didn’t blog about it, so decided to make Bisibele Bath this weekend at any cost, and I did.

I didn’t actually follow the traditional method (I mean making BBB powder) (I always want to escape from making something from scratch), so invented my own easy method. But trust me; it tasted just like the traditional BBB.

For your convenience, I will give both traditional and my easy methods. Of course, except for the powder part I mostly follow the traditional method.

Ingredients:

2 cups Rice
1 cup Toor Dal (Kandi Pappu) (can be replaced with Masoor Dal)
6 cups Water
1 big Onion, chopped
4 or 5 small pearl Onions
1 Tomato, chopped
A small piece of Carrot, peeled and cut into pieces
4 or 5 green Chilies, chopped
A handful of Mixed Vegetables (any of your choice)
1 tsp Tamarind Extract
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
¼ tsp Black Gram (Minapapappu, Urad Dal)
A few Cashews
A few Curry Leaves
A few Cilantro Leaves(Kottimeera)
Salt
1 tsp Oil
1 tsp Ghee (Neyyi, Clarified Butter)

To Grind into Powder: (Traditional)

My Masala (No Frying and No Grinding)

Coriander Seeds – 1 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds – ½ tsp
Desiccated Coconut – ¼ cup
Khus Khus – 1 tsp
Cloves – 4
Cardamom – 4
Cinnamon – A small piece
2 or 3 dry Red Chilies

1 tsp Sambar Powder

(I always make sambar powder at home that

already contains red chilies and coconut,

but you can use store-bought Sambar Powder too!)

4 Whole Cloves
1 tsp Cinnamon Powder
¼ tsp Cardamom Seeds

Preparation:

If you wish to follow the traditional method, roast all the ingredients under “To Grind” using little oil and grind into a fine powder.

Wash and pressure cook toor daal until 3 whistles. Go, read a book or watch your favorite TV program until all the pressure is gone.

In a pressure pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + cashews and fry until the dals turn golden brown in color.

Then add curry leaves + cilantro and stir well. Later add all the vegetables and mix well (no need to fry them for a long time).

Later add turmeric + tamarind extract and mix very well. Finally add the ground powders (or add the ingredients listed under “I Used”, if you are following my method) and stir well.

Now it’s time to add rice and dal. Wash rice well and add along with the cooked dal and mix well. Pour water and add salt. Mix well and put the lid on the pressure pan along with the weight on top. Wait for 3 whistles and switch off the flame.

After all the pressure is gone, slowly remove the lid and add ghee and mix BBB well. You can experience the wonderful aroma filling your house while this BBB is getting cooked.

Enjoy steaming hot BBB with some chips/papads/yogurt on side or just like that.

Vanilla Cupcakes

2009-05-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

As I previously wrote, I recently joined in Sweet & Simple Bakes, where we will be given a simple baking challenge each month. This yummy challenge is started by Rosie and Maria, who whip up many mouth-watering bakes. This month the challenge was Vanilla Cupcakes. We had fun making them. As always, my daughter wanted to decorate the cupcakes and she did a very nice job, don’t you think?

Ingredients: (Makes 12)

Original Recipe

I used

175g (6 oz) self-raising flour
1½ level tsp baking powder
175g (6 oz) butter, softened
175g (6 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
3 large eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream Icing

150g (5oz) butter, softened
300g (11 oz) icing (confectioners) sugar, sifted
1 tbsp milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Edible food colouring(s) of choice, optional
Sprinkle(s) for decoration of choice

1 cup All Purpose Flour
1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
¾ cup Butter, softened
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Butter Cream Icing

½ cup Butter
½ cup Sugar
1 tbsp Milk
¼ tsp Vanilla Extract

I didn’t add any food color, but used some sprinkles for decoration

Preparation: (You can read the original recipe HERE)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, and then add the butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla extract.

Beat them until they mix well, trying not to over mix. Keep aside.

Line up the cupcake/muffin tray with paper cups. Then spoon in the prepared mixture equally into the paper cups.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Leave to cool in the tray for 5 minutes then turn out to completely cool on a wire rack.

Butter Cream Icing

To make the butter cream, beat the butter until soft (I melted the butter for 20 seconds in the microwave). Add the icing sugar and stir until it’s just mixed in, then add the milk and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

Spread the icing on the cupcakes thickly with butter knife or put the icing into a piping back and make a large swirl on top of each cupcake. Decorate each cupcake with your chosen sprinkle(s).

My kids (of course all of us) enjoyed so much eating these yummy cupcakes. Thanks for the simple yet delicious recipe Rosie and Maria!

Cha Ma-Naw (Lime Iced Tea)

2009-04-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is a refreshing drink for a hot day! I made this today to contribute for the “It's a vegan world - Thai” event hosted by Priya of Akshayapaatram. It’s a vegan world is originally started by Vaishali of Earth Vegan.

I got the original recipe from this site. Actually I bookmarked many vegan Thai recipes for the event, but settled for this delicious tea recipe. It was so easy and we like tea!

Ingredients:

1 cup drinking Water
1 Tea Bag or 1 tsp Tea Powder
3 tbsp Sugar
2 tsp fresh Lime Juice
Some Ice Cubes

Preparation:

Pour water in a bowl, add tea powder and bring to a boil. If using a tea bag just tear it open and pour the powder into the water.

Filter the tea water to remove pulp, add sugar and mix well until it dissolves.

In a glass add some ice cubes and lime juice. Pour the hot tea over the ice.

Stir and enjoy.

As this is a very refreshing drink for summer, I can’t stop myself from sending this to AnuSriram’s “Refreshing Drinks- RD for summer” event.

I am also sending the following drinks which I posted previously to Anu’s event. Hope you like them Anu!

Click on the titles to read the recipes.

Chocolate-Banana Delight

Double - Trouble Shake

Fruity Curdy Shake

Strawberry Lemonade

Check out my Recipe Index for more beverage ideas!

Cilantro-Chickpea Fritters (Kottimeera Vadalu) (Not Deep-Fried)

2009-04-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

These are some yummy fritters I tried recently on one evening. They are instant (no grinding as I used canned chickpeas) and are ready in minutes. And the good thing is they aren’t deep-fried. Inspired by them, her and her I made these using the appam pan and it was a success. It took very little oil and turned out perfectly yummy.

An Update: I used canned chickpeas for my recipe. If you wish to use dry chickpeas (garbanzo beans) soak them overnight before grinding. No need to boil or cook them!

Ingredients:

A bunch of Cilantro Leaves (Kottimeera)
1 can of Chickpeas, drained and washed
3 or 4 green Chilies
Some Oil
Salt

Note: Chickpeas can be replaced with chana dal (Bengal Gram, Pachi Senaga pappu) soaked for at least 6 hours.

Preparation:

Grind together cilantro + chickpeas + green chilies into a thick paste adding very little water. Don’t worry if it gets too watery. Add little rice flour to the batter to make it thick. Adjust salt.

Heat the appam pan and pour 1 tsp of oil in each groove. When the oil is hot, carefully drop spoonful of the batter (or just shape batches of batter into small patties and drop by hand) in each groove. Keep the flame on medium-low.

After some time, when they turn golden brown on one side, carefully flip them to fry on the other side. Use a skewer (I used bamboo skewer) or a fork to flip the fritters.

When both sides turn golden brown, transfer them to a paper towel to remove any excess oil.

Enjoy these delicious, crunchy fritters with ketchup or any other desired chutney.

This is my contribution to “JFI: Jihva For Cilantro” hosted by Cilantro. Jihva For Ingredients is originally started by Indira of Mahanandi.

I am sending the second picture to “FIC: Red & Green” hosted by Neha. Food In Colors is originally started by Harini.

Upma Pakoda

2009-04-22T22:24:00.001-07:00

Curious George (that’s me) is here again with one more crazy but delicious recipe. Before I go to the recipe, I want to thank you all for the warm wishes for my daughter’s b’day. She felt so happy to see so many lovely wishes for her b’day and asked me to covey her thanks to you all! And regarding the “10” shaped picture of Carrot Kesari, I am glad you all liked it. The credit should go to my hubby who always helps me in clicking and presenting the food.

OK. Now coming to the recipe, this is an instant snack recipe that can be made with leftover upma. I made this long back and it has been taking rest in the archives. These days I have stopped deep-frying much for the fear of fat. But now and then we can indulge in deep-fried love for the taste, right?

I’ve previously posted a delicious dosa recipe with upma, now check this yummy variation.

Ingredients:

No specific measurements for this recipe.

Some Leftover Upma
Some Rice Flour
Salt, if needed
Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

Mix together upma and rice flour to make a thick paste. Add little water if needed. Adjust salt.

Heat oil in a pan and drop small portions of the prepared batter carefully. Fry for some time until the pakodas turn golden brown in color. Then remove them from the oil and spread on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat the same process with rest of the batter.

Enjoy these pakodas with your favorite chutney. These are perfect evening snack with tea/coffee.

On a Different Note:

I would like to thank Priya Sriram, Shama, Prathibha, Sanghi, Trupti and Shubha for passing the “I Love Your Blog” award. So sweet of you, friends! I love all your blogs too! I added this to my awards page. Thank you so much!

Carrot Kesari

2009-04-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

This is just regular kesari which I made little healthy by adding carrot to it. I made this for my daughter’s 10^th birthday, which she recently celebrated. It came out so delicious and perfect.

Ingredients:

2 cups of grated Carrots
1 cup Semolina (Upma Rava, Sooji)
1 cup Sugar
A few Almonds (chopped), Cardamom Seeds and Raisins
2 or 3 strands of Saffron
1 cup Milk
1 cup Water
1 tsp Ghee (clarified butter)

Preparation:

Dry roast semolina until golden brown in color and keep aside.

Heat ghee and add cardamom seeds + almonds. Stir well. Add grated carrot and water. Cover and let the carrots get cooked and become soft.

Then add semolina along with sugar and milk and mix well. Add saffron too! Finally add raisins and mix well.

Cover and leave the pan on low flame for some time. When the mixture becomes thick, switch off the flame and transfer the contents to a greased plate.

Spread the kesari on the plate and let it cool for some time. Cut into to desired shapes and enjoy the yummy kesari any time of the day! This is very good as Neivedyam during festivals.

This is my contribution to Srivalli's "Mithai Mela" event.

On a Different Note:

Have you heard of “Head Lice”? Of course, you might have! Almost every one of us might have been the victims of these lice during our school days, don’t we? I know how irritation these could cause! Check out my new post on “Head Lice and Prevention/Cure” in my other blog, where I discussed about this topic. Hope you like it! :)

Cauliflower Dry Curry

2009-04-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

This is a simple and delicious curry made with cauliflower that goes well with rice. My kids like to eat cauliflower this way!

Ingredients:

1 head of Cauliflower
½ tsp red Chili Powder
1 or 2 tsp dry Coconut Powder
A pinch of Turmeric Powder
Salt

For Tempering/Seasoning:

1 or 2 tsp Oil
1 or 2 broken Red Chilies
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
½ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
A few Curry Leaves

Preparation:

Thoroughly wash cauliflower, remove the stem and leaves and chop very finely. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds along with chana and urad dals and sauté until they turn golden brown in color. Add broken red chilies and fry for some time.

Then add curry leaves and chopped cauliflower along with turmeric and mix well. Cover and leave the pan for some time on low flame until cauliflower gets cooked and loses the raw smell. Keep stirring now and then. Sprinkle some water if needed.

When the raw smell from cauliflower goes away, add coconut powder, chili powder (if using) and salt and mix well. Leave the pan for some more time again. Be sure to keep the flame on low as this curry tends to get burnt easily.

When it’s done, switch off the flame and transfer the curry into a serving bowl and enjoy with rice. Isn’t it so simple?

Yellow Chili Pickle

2009-04-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Looks like I haven’t posted anything since last Tuesday. I was completely down with cold and cough and I couldn’t sit near the computer to type anything. My hubby and daughter took charge of the house and treated me like a small baby! Today I feel little better (still coughing while typing this!) so thought of posting a simple chutney from my archives.

Ingredients:

3 cups Yellow Chilies, chopped
3 tsp Oil
¼ cup Coriander Seeds (Dhaniyalu, Dhaniya)
½ tsp Turmeric
¼ tsp Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
¼ tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Menthulu, Methi)
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
A handful of Cilantro (Kottimeera)
½ tsp Tamarind
Salt

Method:

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan; add the chilies + turmeric and sauté well for some time. Transfer the chilies to a plate and keep aside to cool.

Add rest of the oil (1 tsp) to the pan and add cumin seeds + coriander seeds + asafetida + fenugreek seeds and sauté well for some time. Finally add cilantro and mix well. Transfer the contents to a plate and let them cool for some time.

Later grind all the ingredients into a smooth paste along with tamarind and salt. Add little water if needed. Don’t make it too watery. Adjust salt.

Enjoy with hot rice and ghee.

Note: These chillies are mild. So if you want more spicy, add some chillies or chilli powder.

Update: Oopsy! I confused you all with my silly little note! Actually these chilies are so hot and spicy in taste. If you want to lessen the spiciness, just deseed the chilies and use in chutney. I just wrote the other way, don't know why! Please ignore the note. I stroke it off!

Thanks for correcting me Asha and Vibaas! :)

Honeydew Melon Sambhar

2009-04-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

This is the yummiest sambhar I ever made. This is a little sweet and sour in taste. I usually prepare such sambhars with ripe mangoes, sweet potatoes, apples etc. I thought why not try to make this with honeydew melon and I tried it. Everyone liked the taste so much and enjoyed it heartily.

Ingredients:

3 fistfuls of Toor Dal (Kandi Pappu)
1 cup of honeydew melon peeled and cut into pieces (approx.)
1 or 2 Tomatoes, chopped into pieces
A few Curry Leaves
A handful of Cilantro
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Oil
A pinch of Turmeric
A pinch of Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
1 tsp Sambhar Powder
1 tsp Tamarind Pulp (or as required)
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Chili Powder (I didn’t add this as my kids wanted it non-spicy)
Salt

Preparation:

Pressure cook toor dal until it’s done. Keep aside.

In a bowl heat the oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds and fry for 2 seconds.

Then add curry leaves + tomatoes + melon pieces + turmeric + sambhar powder + asafetida to the bowl and stir well. Add the chili powder too if using. Add a small amount of water just to soak the melon pieces, cover and leave the bowl for some time on medium flame.

After some time check if the melon pieces are soft (don’t let it turn too soft and mushy). If they are soft, add the cooked dal along with tamarind pulp and sugar and stir well. Add some more water and let the sambhar cook for some time more until it comes to a boiling point. Add salt and cilantro and mix well.

You can feel the aroma while this yummy sambhar is cooking. It fills the whole house with hunger with its aroma!

Switch off the flame and enjoy hot sambhar with steaming rice and some ghee (optional). I bet you can’t stop yourself with one serving of this yummy sambhar!

This is my contribution to “WYF: Side Dish” event hosted by EasyCrafts.